Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive

Rachel Naud

October 02, 2008

Parents -- it's time to go back to the basics.

Our high-tech super-structured life isn't working.

In fact, it's failing our children.

A 2008 report card issued by Active Healthy Kids Canada, a charitable organization and advocate of physical activity for Canadian children and youth, issued children an F in physical activity.

"Based on prevalent data that we have in Canada, 90 per cent of Canadian children are not meeting the current physical activity guidelines," says Rachel Colley, research co-ordinator for Active Kids Canada.

The data utilized to issue the grade came from a survey conducted by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyles Research Institute (CFLRI).

The CFLRI collected pedometer data on a sample of approximately 6,000 children and youth age five to 19 across Canada, measuring the number of steps kids take in order to assess their activity levels. By examining rates of participation in organized and unorganized physical activities both in and outside of school, the pedometer data found that most children and youth are far below recommended activity levels.

"We know if someone is active and is getting 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day, which is what kids are supposed to be doing, they should be getting an average of 16,500 steps," says Colley. "The average amount of steps children are getting is around 11,500."

It's no surprise with competing factors such as video games, cellphones, computers and TVs, that children are opting for high-tech downtime instead of participating in sports or activities -- which is why Active Kids Canada also issued children an F for the amount of screen time they're getting.

Read on...